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Grand Charter of the Salterri Imperium
The Grand Charter of the Salterri Imperium was signed in 473, with the addition of the Kingdom of Celero and AQUA to the Empire. Prior to that, there had been several drafts in various stages of approval. The text follows: Preamble The Salterri Imperium exists as a unified empire with the goal of bringing peace, order, and civilization to the world. All Regions, Provinces and Protectorates of the empire agree to a code of conduct to support those goals. Leadership {1} Loyalty to the Qzare is absolute. As ruler of the Imperium, the Qzare maintains ultimate authorityover the empire. The Qzare agrees never to rule unilaterally without the input of the Senate unless necessary for the preservation of the Imperium. {2} Regions under direct control of the Qzare shall be referred to as The Silver Throne. These regions shall retain their native leadership and traditional native methods of leader selection. Said leader is granted the Imperial Title of Provincial Governor and may use this title for all legal purposes. Traditional local titles for leadership may be retained and legally used, provided said titles explicitly called out in this treaty. {3} Cohesive geographical unions consisting of 4 or more regions shall be called Provinces. These Provinces are bound to the Imperium by treaty or conquest. Provinces shall have full rights and responsibilities to maintain their native leadership and methods of selection. Leaders of such nations shall be granted the Imperial Title of Proconsul and may use this title for all legal purposes. Traditional local titles for leadership may be retained and legally used, provided said titles explicitly called out in this treaty. {4} Non-cohesive geographical unions consisting of 1 or more regions shall be called Protectorates, or alternatively Prefectures. These Protectorates are bound to the Imperium by treaty or conquest. Protectorates shall maintain their traditional methods of leadershipunless formally objected to by the Qzare or a vote of the Senate. Leaders of such nations shall be granted the Imperial Prefect and may use this title for all legal purposes. Traditional local titles for leadership may be retained and legally used, provided said titles explicitly called out in this treaty. Representation The Senate {1} The Senate shall be convened on a regular basis to debate the priorities, goals, and agendas of the Imperium and put to a vote said issues. The result of such votes shall be made law to the Imperium. {2} Senators are to be selected by a method determined by the regional rulers, whether that be by vote or appointment. The Imperium shall not interfere in the method of Senatorial selection. {3} Each region shall have one Senator and receive one vote in the Senate. Additionally, for every two regions under direct control of the Silver Throne, they shall receive an additional senator and vote. {4} Each Proconsul shall also receive one vote. {5} The Qzare shall receive no votes but does maintain veto power over any law passed by the Senate. The Senate may, however, override the Qzare's veto with a three quarters vote of the Senators. The Imperial Court {1} Each regional ruler, Protectorate Prefect, and Provincial ProConsul shall have the right to attend or send a duly appointed representative to the Comitatus Judex Primus, Court of the Chief Magistrate of the Salterri Imperium. Here, leaders may petition the Imperium or have grievances addressed. {2} A tribunal of three Magistrates will hear the petitions and issue rulings on a timely basis. {3} The Chief Magistrate of the Salterri Imperium shall be appointed by the Qzare, and serve a term of no less than 5 years. {4} Two other Magistrates shall be chosen by the Imperial Senate from a candidate list of no more than two from each region. These candidates should be of good moral character and knowledgable in Imperial Law. Military Military Obligations {1} The territorial integrity of all provinces and protectorates is guaranteed by the Silver Throne. {2} All provinces and protectorates are expected to maintain reasonable defensive forces proportional to their extent and population, including a navy. {3} All military units shall follow the following naming convention, to assist in integration of disparate units from multiple sources. A '''Legion '''is defined as 1,000 armed and expertly trained soldiers or equivalent thereof. A '''Classis '''is defined as a grouping of naval ships capable of carrying a Legion as well as defending it while in transit. {4} Should any region within the Imperium come under attack from outside, all provinces and protectorates are expected to contribute a reasonable number of troops to its defense at the request of its ruler, reasonable to be construed as all troops that can be made available without endangering the integrity of that subject. {5} Provinces and protectorates are encouraged but not obliged to support foreign deployment of troops undertaken or endorsed by the Silver Throne. Military Actions and Limitations {1} No region will raise arms against another member of the Imperium, except in defense. {2} Proconsuls and Prefects shall not raise unreasonable military forces and will voluntarily disband some or all of them upon request of the Qzare or a vote of the Senate. {3} No region will militarily invade lands belonging to nations outside of the Imperium, except in times of war. With Senate approval, expiditionary forces can be sent to assist and encourage undeveloped regions to join the Imperium or to protect native unaligned peoples. {4} No region shall sponsor privateers nor issue Letters of Marque and Reprisal without consent of the Senate. Faith and Religion {1} The Imperium officially recognizes the Hailings of the Silver Sea as the official state religion for use in all Imperial ceremonies. Clergy of the Hailings of the Silver Sea are granted autonomy to move through all Imperium lands and spread their beliefs without hindrance. {2} The State officially recognizes the Qzare as the bearer of the Silver Mandate and having divine favor to rule. {3} Proconsuls and Prefects must adhere to a state approved faith for all public Imperial actions. Special dispensations may be given to leader who follows a regional religion with long standing traditions in the area. {4} The Qzare and the Senate reserve the right to ban any religion determined to be detrimental to the Imperium. {5} Regional rulers may petition the Courts to restrict the Hailings of the Silver Sea to a minority in a region where a conversion to a majority might cause civil unrest. {6} The spreading of native faiths to other regions requires consent of the ruler of that region, the Prefect or Proconsul, and a full vote by the senate. At no time may any traditional faith be greater than a minority outside its home regions. {7} No member of the Imperium may start or organize a new faith or religion without formal decree from the Senate. {8} No member of the Imperium may spend more than 1/5 of its taxes in support of any religion without formal decree from the Senate. {9) Missionaries from outside of the Imperium are denied entry to Imperial lands and are prohibited from spreading their faith anywhere within the Imperium without formal decree from the Senate. Trade, Resources, & Technology Imperial Provinces and Protectorates may make trade agreements as they see fit with the following requirements. {1} If a region of the Imperium has need of a resource you can provide, you must offer the resource to that region before offering it to any nation outside of the Imperium. {2} No trade agreements of any sort may be made with any nations declared to be an enemy of the Imperium. {3} The Qzare and the Senate reserve the right to declare any technology a ‘state secret’ and forbid trade of it outside the Imperium. {4} All acquired technologies are to be shared openly with all members of the Imperium, though recipients of the technologies may still be required to provide resources in payment for the technology. {5} No ruling member of the Imperium or Senator shall support illegal acquisition of technology that violates existing Imperial Treaties. Amendments The grand charter has since been amended to enshrine the Panshien as an official state religion, encompassing Hailings of the Silver Sea as part of its trinity. Category:Treaties